R&D Tax Credits - UK & Ireland

Research & Development (R&D) tax relief is a government incentive that rewards businesses for investing in innovation. 

While the rules differ between the UK and the Republic of Ireland, both regimes aim to reduce the net cost of qualifying R&D and improve business cash flow.

United Kingdom

• UK companies can claim R&D tax relief through HMRC schemes including the merged SME scheme (with enhanced rates for R&D-intensive companies) and the Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) for larger companies. 
• Tax relief is available on qualifying costs such as staff, subcontracted R&D (within the UK), materials consumed and software, for eligible projects involving the resolution of scientific or technological uncertainty. 
• Claims for tax relief are made through the company's Corporation Tax return and must meet strict technical and documentation standards.

Republic of Ireland

• Revenue Ireland provides an R&D tax credit of up to 35% on qualifying expenditure.
• Eligible costs include staffing, materials, subcontracted R&D and certain capital items, where activities meet scientific and technological criteria. 
• Claims are made via the CT1 corporation tax return, with pre-notification required for first-time claimants, and repayments may be staged over a number of years for larger claims. 
• Revenue audits of R&D claims are common.

Together, these regimes can deliver substantial financial benefits, but successful claims depend on  carefully prepared claims backed by technical and financial evidence.

----

At Redline, we provide end-to-end R&D tax credit claim services for businesses operating in both the UK and Ireland. 

Our approach is built on technical rigour and integrity with the objective of maximising eligible benefit while ensuring your claim is compliant and defendable.

We take ownership of the entire R&D claim process, including:

1. Project eligibility assessment – Identifying project activities and costs that meet the tax definitions of R&D in the UK and Ireland.
    
2. Technical report writing – Preparing clear, evidence-based descriptions of your innovation projects aligned with HMRC or Revenue criteria.
    
3. Project expenditure analysis – Extracting accounting data and segmenting your expenditure accurately and ensuring that only bona fide qualifying costs are included, avoiding over-inflation or guesswork.
    
4. Claim submission – Assembling the evidence and supporting documentation required to satisfy record-keeping standards, filing the pre-notifications and Additional Informations Forms (AIF), whilst liaising with your accountants re. filing the CT600/CT1 submission.
    

Our specialists, located across the islands, will work with your technical, finance and project teams to gather information without burdening your internal resources.

----

In a tax environment where authorities are increasingly focused on compliance and credibility, integrity matters. HMRC and Revenue Ireland both scrutinise R&D claims closely, evaluating both the science/technology narrative and the financial details provided. 

Poorly supported claims or those that over-inflate costs can lead to formal enquiries, or worse, demands for repayment and penalties.

At Redline:

• We never inflate claims or include questionable costs;
• Every project is assessed against the relevant statutory guidance; and
• Claims are engineered to be defendable under audit, not just submitted to write-off your tax bill. 

Our ethos emphasises quality and transparency over short-term gains. This means you can be confident that your R&D tax credit is based on real innovation activity, backed by technical justification and factual cost reporting.

Preparing an R&D claim can be time-consuming and technically demanding, with an increasingly complex set of document filing requirements in both the UK and Ireland. 

Often business owners and finance teams often do not have the bandwidth to:

• Map complex technical project activities against eligible R&D expenditure categories; 
• Write compliant technical project narratives; or 
• Extract costs from multiple data sets such as book-keeping data, payroll reports etc and carry out in-depth analysis and apportionments.
   

Our team of expert technical and accounting staff alleviate this burden by:

• Conducting focused interviews and discovery sessions with your 'competent professionals';
• Using data extraction and analysis tools to streamline cost allocations;
• Producing detailed technical project reports aligned to official guidance; and
• Liaising with your accountants to co-ordinate the tax return submission process.
   

We have been involved in the R&D tax credit space for over a decade and our approach is well proven.

Redline stands by every claim we prepare. If HMRC or Revenue Ireland selects your R&D tax credit claim for review, we will:

• Act as your representative in all interactions with the tax authority;
• Provide detailed responses to technical and financial enquiries;
• Defend the rationale and documentation supporting your claim; and
• Guide and represent you in all discussions.
   

This support can also be provided if you engage us after an initial claim has already been submitted by another R&D advisor, giving you confidence through the formal review process. 

Whether you are making your first R&D claim or indeed seeking a second opinion on an existing R&D tax credit claim, we can provide the technical insight and tax expertise that you need.

We can provide an independent second-opinion review of R&D claims that have already been prepared or submitted, whether completed in-house or by another R&D tax advisor. 

Our specialists can assess both the technical justification and cost methodology to identify risk, gaps in evidence, or opportunities for improvement, giving you clear and objective assurance on the quality and defensibility of your claim.